“Okay.” Daniel trudged back to the Jeep, opened the door, and retrieved the binoculars. Looking back towards the truck, he motioned for Logan to join him.
When he returned to where Serafina stood, he used the binoculars to scan the valley floor. There was no clear path to be seen, so they’d have to forge through a lot of underbrush to get across. The other side also looked rocky and steep, so the climb would be a tough one.
He passed the binoculars to his wife. “Take a look.”
She quickly scanned the valley, then brought the binoculars back up to look at the far side of the bridge, where the road continued northeast, heading towards Victorville.
Still staring across the valley, she passed the binoculars back to Daniel. “Take a look on the other side.”
Daniel brought the binoculars up to his eyes and looked in the direction Serafina had indicated. There were nearly twenty cars stopped on that side of the valley, cluttering the road. Many were damaged, having been crashed into from behind or from the people who tried in vain to execute u-turns in too small of a space, but there were several that appeared intact.
“We can use those,” Daniel said, lowering the binoculars and handing them to Logan.
Accepting them, Logan asked, “Are you two talking about the undamaged vehicles on the other side?”
Daniel looked at the man, surprised. He hadn’t even raised the binoculars yet.
“How did you?”
“I used the scope on my rifle while I was waiting in the truck.”
Serafina looked over. “Not bad,” she said, nodding.
Daniel rested his hands on his hips, looking down at the valley. “So I guess we just gotta get across.”
“It’s gonna be tough, but we can make it,” Logan said, staring down towards the burned wreckage. He pointed. “If we stay close to the wreckage, we’ll have an easier route and won’t have to fight through the bushes.”
Serafina nodded in agreement. “That’ll help. Fire would have killed any infected that were in the cars.”
“The other side is my concern. Especially for the girls.” Daniel said, pointing.
“I’ll go first,” Logan offered. “I went through BMMC.”
Daniel stared at the man, unwaveringly. “I guess you think we know what that is?”
“Oh, sorry. Basic Military Mountaineer Course, it’s taught at the Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vermont.”
Daniel grinned, breaking the tension. “See? Now that makes sense.”
“Wow. You two are both dorks.” Serafina turned and walked back towards the Jeep. “Lunch first,” she said, heading towards the back of the off-road vehicle.
The group ate their lunch sitting on the rocks near the side of the road, talking quietly amongst themselves. When he’d finished his peanut butter and honey sandwich, Daniel began sorting through the items they had in the Jeep. He’d already separated them by importance, but he wanted to double check everything.
After a few moments, Serafina joined him at the back of the Jeep.
“We knew it would come to this sooner or later,” she began.
“Yeah, I know. I just wish we could keep using the Jeep and the truck. Those cars over there aren’t nearly as capable, should we need to leave the road.”
“They could just be temporary until we find another Jeep, or maybe two.”
Daniel nodded, stuffing all the ammo he could fit into his backpack. “That would be good.” He slipped his arms into the straps of the backpack before turning to face her. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” She pulled her backpack on, then looked over at the group. “Alright, girls, coming get your packs. It’s time to head out.”
As Ashley, Brenna, and Isabella came over to the Jeep, Logan and Paul headed to the truck to get their packs. Logan pulled his pack on before reaching into the truck's interior and withdrawing his handgun and the AR-15 rifle he’d taken from the men they’d battled at the lodge in Big Bear. He stuffed the pistol into the back of his waistband before slinging the AR-15 over his shoulder. With that done, he began filling the cargo pockets on his pants with spare magazines.
Paul grabbed a handgun as well, but only bothered with two spare magazines. His preferred weapon was the bow, which had been given to him by Janice, who’d taught him and Brenna how to use the weapon with silent, deadly accuracy.
Brenna followed suit, taking a handgun and a pair of spare magazines, which she stuffed into her backpack. She admired her bow briefly before slinging it and her quiver of arrows over her shoulder.
Ashley grabbed her high-powered rifle and pulled the strap over her shoulder, reaching across her body to hold it in place. If needed, she could put her left arm through the strap, to secure it onto her back, but she wanted to be sure it didn’t bang into anything while they were hiking.
Next to Daniel, Serafina checked her Glock 9, making sure it had a full magazine before sliding it into the rear of her waistband. With that done, she put spare magazines into her pack before grabbing her collection of knives and strapping them onto various parts of her body. No matter what position she was in, a blade was close by.
Logan watched Isabella as her eyes tracked the group’s movements, wide in awe over the number of weapons the group loaded themselves with. Uncertainty and fear showed on the young girl’s face as she appeared to realize that the violence she’d been exposed to over the last week wasn’t an anomaly.
It was the new normal.
Logan strode over to her side and looked down at her. “You okay?”
The young Mexican girl looked up at him, eyes still wide in awe. “I...think so…”
“Hey, listen,” he said, smiling slightly. “All of this is to keep us - and you - safe. There are bad guys out there, and we’ll do our best to avoid them, but there might be times when we can’t.”
The girl nodded, looking away. “I know...like those men at the lodge.”
“Exactly. They were bad people, and we had to fight back to stop them.” He reached over and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “Daniel was determined to save you and Serafina, and he did. Ashley and Brenna were part of it, as was Paul.” Moving in front of her, he squatted down so he could look her in the eye. “They’re going to take care of you. You know that, right?”
She nodded. Tears were forming in her eyes.
“I know,” she said, looking down again. “I just miss my Mommy and Daddy.”
Logan nodded, taking a turn at looking away. He took a breath, then looked back at her, holding her gaze. “I know, Izzie. I miss my fiancée, too.”
“What’s a fiancée?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.
“She was the woman I wanted to marry.”
“You did?”
“More than anything in the world,” he replied, his brow creasing as he frowned in sorrow.
“Did the bad things get her?”
“Yeah,” he said, not wanting to admit that she’d actually become one of the ‘bad things.’
“My Daddy became one of them. He killed my Mommy.” Isabella began to cry as the memories of the attack came back to her, flooding her with emotion.
Logan shook his head, reaching out to hold her shoulder again. “It wasn’t his fault, though. He was sick. The people who get sick don’t know what they’re doing. We have to remember that, okay?”
“I know,” the girl said, choking back tears.
“We - ” Logan began before Isabella lunged forward, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. She buried her head in his chest as tears flowed forth. Caught off guard, Logan slowly brought his arms around the girl and held her close to him, letting her tears moisten his shirt.
Looking towards the others, he saw them watching. Pulling his hands away briefly, he held them upward, indicating he didn’t know what to do.
Serafina smiled, nodding in encouragement, while Daniel simply gave him a thumbs up.
Feeling awkward, he held the girl close to him, offering the only thing he could: closenes
s.
Daniel took the lead as they climbed down into the valley in a single file line. Serafina followed close behind, reaching out on occasion to steady herself against Daniel.
Once they’d descended below the level of the road, the smell of burned fuel and tires assaulted their noses, and they’d been forced to wrap spare shirts around their mouths and noses, to make things bearable.
Daniel’s eyes remained focused on the wreckage as they walked downward, closing in on the wide blackened area around the remains of the truck and other vehicles. Though it would have been impossible for anything to survive a fire of such magnitude, he wouldn’t let his guard down for a second. He’d come way too close to losing Serafina, and he’d be damned if he’d let that happen again.
Stepping onto the charred ground near the truck, he forged a path between the empty shells that were once automobiles. The metal frames were all that remained, skeletons of what once had taken men, women, and children from place to place during happier times. Keeping his shotgun extended in front of him, he swiveled his torso from side to side as he walked, his boots crunching broken glass and small bits of burned underbrush as he passed.
Drawing even with the first car’s burned out interior, he saw blackened skeletons still inside. He figured the most likely scenario was that they’d fallen from above, been knocked unconscious at impact, and burned to death in the resulting fire.
What a terrible way to go.
As they drew closer to the cabin of the big rig, he saw something even more distressing. Skeletons were positioned in ways that indicated they’d been trying to get into the vehicle’s cabin when they were overcome by the fire. Bodies had been burned, still clinging to the sides of the truck, their arms and hands reaching upward towards the truck’s closed passenger door.
Had they been so focused on getting to the driver that they’d ignored the intense flames that consumed them?
He and his family had seen evidence of some crazy things over the last two weeks, but his one took the cake by far.
When they reached the far side of the valley, they paused, gazing upwards at the steep incline that led up the other side. The face of the wall was primarily dirt and rock, with the exception of a few small, mostly brown shrubs. There was little to grasp during the climb, and a slip or fall would not only be painful, but would most likely lead to broken bones.
Sipping water, Daniel and Serafina looked over at Logan in exasperation.
Grinning, the man nodded. “No problem.”
“Seriously?” Serafina asked, looking at the man, then back at the steep wall.
“Seriously. Let me have the rope so I can secure it at the top.”
Detaching the thick nylon rope from his backpack, Daniel passed it to him. “You sure about this?”
“Absolutely.” With that, the man moved forward with confidence, reaching the base of the cliff. Using his hands and feet, the man moved upward like a spider, climbing with skilled grace and ease, pausing only to double check the integrity of certain hand- and footholds. Halfway up, he turned back and waved.
“Show off,” Daniel muttered, grinning as he did. He couldn’t help but like the guy, and he was glad they’d talked him into coming with them. After the adrenaline rush from the battle at the lodge had faded, the man had seemed to fall into a deep depression, avoiding contact and, when forced to interact, minimizing conversation. He was clearly hurting over the loss of his fiancée, and Daniel could only assume that the woman meant as much to Logan as Serafina did to him.
When Daniel approached him about joining them on the journey north, towards San Francisco, Logan had initially been reluctant. While he’d planned on heading north, towards his family’s old ranch forty miles from Sacramento, he’d planned on traveling alone. He was certain he needed time alone to deal with everything he felt.
With everything he’d lost.
Daniel sensed that the man had surprised even himself when he agreed to join them, but to Daniel, it actually wasn’t that surprising at all.
Military men and women had a sense of purpose that became part of their core. Alone or in a group, the purpose drove them.
Isabella had provided that purpose. Being immune to the virus, she was key to the development of the cure. How was beyond any of them, but if getting her to the safe zone in San Francisco meant there was a chance to end this nightmare, they would see to it that she got there.
And Logan would be part of it.
“Make sure you guys follow the exact path I take!” The man yelled before turning and resuming his climb.
Daniel gave him a thumbs up. “Will do!”
Breathing heavily, Logan reached the top of the cliff, pulling himself up and over the edge before rolling onto his back and laying on the ground, panting as he looked towards the sky.
He was about to close his eyes when he heard the unmistakable snarling of one of the infected.
Eyes widening, he rolled over quickly and sprung to his feet just as a crazed man rushed at him. Small and thin, the barefoot man wore nothing but torn blue jeans as he lunged forward. Unable to draw his weapon in time, Logan did the only thing he could.
He planted his fist squarely in the man’s nose.
Logan’s superior size and strength, combined with his perfect form and the man’s foreword momentum resulted in the total collapse of the man’s nose. Bits of bone and cartilage pushed backward into the man’s brain, causing micro-tears in the Dura Mater that protects the brain. Simultaneously, the man’s feet flew out from under him, causing him to land squarely on his back, forcing the oxygen from his lungs.
Without hesitation, Logan brought out his K-bar knife and sank into the base of the man’s throat, driving it downward until it severed the man’s spinal cord. The thing’s body twitched once before going still.
Breathless again, Logan allowed himself to fall backwards onto his butt. He brought his knees up and rested his forearms on them as he struggled to catch his breath.
“Holy shit,” he muttered.
From down in the valley, Daniel’s voice called out:
“Hey, Logan, you didn’t forget about us down here, did ya?”
Daniel had every member of their group go before he did, spotting them as they began their climb, making sure they looped the rope through the belt he wrapped around them so that they could climb with confidence, able to stop any downward motion with ease.
Serafina ascended first, followed by the girls: Ashley, Brenna, and Isabella. Once they reached the top, Paul took his turn, leaving Daniel alone at the bottom of the hillside. Paul climbed with ease, using his long, sinewy limbs to pull himself upwards, traversing the rocky cliff face quickly and efficiently, even with a shoulder that had been dislocated only a few days prior. He favored the arm as he climbed, choosing to use his left arm as much as possible, and since Daniel had experienced a dislocation himself, he knew exactly why.
After a dislocation, having seen your arm hanging limply at your side, unable to be controlled by the normal motor skills you’ve used your whole life, you simply don’t trust it the way you had prior to the event. The mind tells you it can’t ever be the same after that. It must be permanently damaged, barely usable, and certainly not something you want to count on in a moment of need.
With time, therapy, and conditioning, you can learn to trust it again, but Paul had received none of these, save a few lightweight exercises Daniel had taught him.
As Paul disappeared over the edge, Daniel looked back towards where they’d park the Jeep and truck. He’d miss that Jeep, especially after all it had gotten them through. Marked with bullet holes and sporting replaced windows and Freedom Panels, it had made their survival during a freeway shootout possible. It had taken a beating and never faltered, which couldn’t be said for the motorcycles and the car that had tried in vain to take them down.
Daniel chuckled to himself as he thought, ‘Jeep is Life. I gotta tell Serafina that when I get to the top…’ Turning back to grab the rope, he
paused, then looked back towards the Jeep.
Nearly a dozen infected were streaming down the hill, into the valley.
Towards where he was.
“Shit!”
Serafina’s voice called down to him from above. “Daniel!”
“I see them!” Fastening his belt around his waist and running the rope through, he began climbing up the hill as fast as he could go. Unlike the other younger and lighter members of the group, he simply couldn’t move as quickly or as nimbly. Each step seemed to slip under him, knocking loose dirt and rocks, sending it rolling downward behind him.
He heard bushes crashing behind him as the infected closed in on the base of the hill, snarling and screaming as they tried to reach him.
Lunging forward, Daniel reached for a handhold. His foot slipped out from under him as the ledge he stood on gave way, tumbling away from him. Grabbing the outcropping of rock, he held on tightly, feeling his bicep and forearm muscles strain as his feet struggled for purchase.
Eleven infected had reached the bottom of the cliff and were attempting to climb up after him. Some made progress before sliding back downward, others failed at first attempt, landing on their faces and chests as the ground gave way beneath them.
Using his strength, Daniel pulled himself upward until the rock he clung to was even with his chest. Looking down, he found a spot to plant his foot. Doing so, he was able to push himself slightly upward before reaching up with one hand to grab the next handhold.
From there, he grabbed another, and then another. He felt the rope being pulled, helping him ascend faster. Feeling uncharacteristically lighter, he made the last part of the climb quickly, reaching the top less than forty five seconds later. Rolling onto his back, he sucked in air deeply as the others began rolling rocks down towards the infected. Finding strength he didn’t know he had left, he climbed to his feet, tossed aside the belt and rope, and began helping the others.
Being singularly focused on killing, the infected made no attempt to protect themselves as the rocks tumbled down the hill towards them at high rates of speed. Bones broke and skulls cracked as Daniel and the others pushed rock after rock over the edge until the last infected succumbed to his injuries, falling in a heap amongst the others.
Surviving Rage | Book 3 Page 9
